Another Training Update

I was planning on doing these updates monthly as we progressed towards race day, but I think that might be a bit too long between updates if anyone is actually following my progress via this method.

Training is progressing very well.  I'm at the point that I'm beginning to see real improvements in all three disciplines.  The improvements in the pool aren't so much in my time, but in my stroke.  My training plan incorporates a lot of drill work (sets where you work on your form), and I can tell doing those sets has really helped my form.  I'm a particular fan of the Zipper drill.  In that drill, as you bring your arm back towards your head to make a stroke, you trail your thumb along the side of your body, as if you were unzipping something.  I've noticed that when my form starts to get sloppy, I can do this drill for just a few strokes and it helps calm me down and get my form back to where it needs to be.  If I get in the lake at the race and feel my form is not where I want it, you can bet I'll be using this drill during the race to help me out.

Beyond my form coming along, I've been working on figuring out what kind of pace to take in the swim.  I'm convinced that in every single other triathlon I've done, I've started out too fast in the swim.  In the few races I've worn a wetsuit, the wetsuit has only made this worse, as the compression on my chest makes me gasp for breath even more than normal.  I think I've settled on trying to hold a 2:00 per 100 yard pace at the race. That would put me finishing the swim in roughly 45 minutes.  I know from the pool it's a pace I can hold, and I've been doing a lot of work in the pool during my cool down sets to make sure I know what that pace feels like so I can hold it on race day without having to stop and look at my watch.

My biking is coming along nicely as well.  Due to some uncharacteristically warm weather this weekend, we were able to get the bikes off the trainer and outdoors yesterday.  We did laps at Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport.  The scenery down there gets boring real quick, but it's safer than normal public roads and the 3.7 mile loop makes it impossible to get lost, and if something happens to either my wife or myself, we're guaranteed to come upon each other within fifteen minutes or so.  My cadence was down from the trainer rides (73 RPM yesterday, 88 RPM on my last trainer ride), but that's expected when you transition from the trainer to the road, so I wasn't worried.  I average a speed of 17.7 mph and got in 22.13 miles in 1 hour and fifteen minutes.  Overall it was a very good ride on a flat course.  Soon, I'm going to have to get out on the actual roads and start tackling some hills to prepare for Wisconsin.

Today's run was stellar.  I did this run by myself because my wife had to go into work.  It was warm enough outside that I could finally run in just shorts and a tee-shirt.  I managed 5 miles in 57:40, with an overall pace of 11:32 minutes/mile.  This is by far the fastest I have ever gone for this long of a run, and I'm very proud of it considering the course I picked.  I left my house and went to 108th street, and then just went straight down 108th.  There are some pretty massive hills on 108th (not necessarily steep, buy very long hills), and I managed to run all of them.  I didn't stop to walk once today, and I can't tell you how big of a boost that gave me when I was done.  It's been a very long time since I've gone that far without stopping to walk, and I've never done it on a course that is as hilly as the one I ran today.

This weekend was the first time that I really began to see true gains from my training.  I could have gone harder on the bike yesterday, but that wasn't the point; it was my first outdoor ride and I was just trying to shake off the rust and see what I could do with a normal effort.  Today's run was a bit more than a normal effort, but I was happy I put in the work I did and managed the pace I did.

The runs I've been doing on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings with the Endurance House people are obviously helping.  (This week was a bit of an anomaly as I had plans with family on Saturday morning and couldn't make it to the EH run; hence why I flipped the bike and run workouts this weekend).  Scott has been giving me tips and has been pushing me while I run, and all of that helped out today.  If you're in the KC area and are looking for a run group, check them out on Tuesday nights.  It's a good group.

Despite the gains I've made so far, I don't think I'm ready for the half-Ironman yet.  I think I could get through the swim and the first half of the bike just fine, but the last 25-30 miles on the bike and the entire run would be very rough right now.  Thankfully, I've got plenty of time to continue preparing.  Despite the fact that I know I'm not ready yet, the gains I'm seeing have got me more excited than nervous about the race.  I think when race day comes I'll be ready.

Half Ironman Training Update

Now that I've finished a full four weeks of training for the Wisconsin 70.3, I figured I'd give a quick update on how things are going.

I've really enjoyed the training plan, but recently I can tell it has been taking a toll on me.  Today was a rest day, and I needed it; this weekends workouts left me exhausted.  The training has progressively gotten more intense the further into the plan I get (Captain Obvious statement, I know), and while I can tell my body is adapting to it, I can also tell that it's not something I'm entirely used to yet.

I'm pretty proud of what I've done so far.  In the first four weeks of training, I've only missed/skipped a total of three workouts, all swims.  I had to skip the first two swims during the first week because I was unable to swim - I started the training plan knowing I would not be able to do these workouts.  Since swimming is my strength, I figured starting my swimming training one week behind my bike and run training was no big deal.  The third skipped workout was this past Friday - the pool was closed due to a high school swim meet, and I wasn't aware they'd be closed until I arrived at the pool and found out.  I wasn't happy about it, but there was nothing to be done, so I just took it as another rest day and moved on.

The group runs with Endurance House have been a big boon, and I'm very much looking forward to group rides once the weather improves and we can get the bikes outside.  The owners of the store have really helped me out in multiple ways.  If you're in the Greater K.C. area, check them out.  It's worth your time and the drive to the Northland if you live down south.

Overall, training is going well.  I'm keeping up with the volume, and I can tell I'm getting better.  I've lost a few pounds since I started, and the weight sets are helping me to gain muscle, so I think I've lost more than two pounds of fat, it just doesn't show on the scale.  As mentioned, I'm enjoying the process so far, even when I have days like today when I'm sore and exhausted.

I'm beginning to look forward to race day with excitement instead of panic.  I think the panic/apprehension will still be there until I actually complete a race of this distance, but it's slowly starting to fade to the back, which is a good thing.

Post Race Training

Since the triathlon two Sundays ago, I haven't done a whole lot. I swam the Monday night after the race (May 18th), and went biking for 14.76 miles on Tuesday the 19th, and I swam on Wednesday the 20th and Saturday the 23rd, then ran 3.1 miles tonight, Wednesday, May 27th.  I also played golf with my dad on Memorial Day, but that doesn't really count as "training." Ironically, though, it'd been so long since I played golf that the repetitive swing motion made me sore the next day.

The reason for my reduction in training is due to the simple fact that I've been very sore recently. Mainly saddle sore. I'm not used to all the miles I've been putting in on the bike.  Part of it has to do with my ride on the 19th. 14.76 miles is the longest I've ever been on the bike, and come the Thursday after, I could tell I'd likely been biking a bit too much. The back of my thighs ached constantly, likely from all the time in the saddle, and that ache continued thru Memorial Day. It was far less than pleasant, and I decided to back off a bit and let my body recover from the race and the extra miles I've been doing so as to prevent sickness or injury.

That said, the bike ride on the 19th went very well. I met up with a local triathlon group at the downtown airport to ride, and did four laps around the complex. Not only was this the longest I've ever done, it was a new record for average speed - 15.7 MPH. My goal is to get my average speed up to around 17 or 18 MPH for the half Ironman (HIM) in October, so this is a step in the right direction. I'll grant that this course is mostly flat (two short, but steep, hills), but I'm hoping if I train well here it will translate come race day.  I'm also glad I met with the group - had I been on my own, I likely would have stopped after three laps instead of getting the extra 3.7 miles in.

I don't have much to say about the swimming workouts. I did the yardage and felt OK doing it.

Tonight's run went well, however. I did 3.1 miles in 39:19, which is a new record for me. I ran .5 miles and walked .1 to rest for the entire run, and it worked out well. When I first started running last summer, I was doing .1/.1 splits, so to come back after a long layoff and still manage a .5/.1 split for 3 miles felt good. I'm confident that after a few more weeks, maybe a month, I'll be back to running upwards of 5 miles without walking at all.

Overall, I'm glad I scaled back the training a bit. I'm in the beginning of my HIM training plan (it's a twenty week plan) and I think that for my current fitness level it's a bit ambitious. My plan currently is to do what I can, sticking to the plan as closely as I can, and hopefully eventually do all the workouts it's calling for. Even if I never get there, I'm firmly in the "You have a HIM coming up, it's time to train for it" mindset, so I should be able to work up to the distances needed by October and be ready for this race, even if my progress to those distances is slower than my plan would like.

My main focus now is the HIM. I'm planning on doing a 5K on the 4th of July, and I have the Matt Mason Tri at the beginning of August, but both of these are pretty minor races for me right now. I'm doing the 5K mainly because it's going to be a cool, patriotic race, and the Matt Mason tri will really just be a tune-up for the HIM, giving me one more chance to practice my transitions and open water swim skills for real before the big day in October. Of course, the Matt Mason tri will also be really patriotic, which really appeals to me (it's a memorial race for a fallen Navy SEAL, who was killed when the helicopter he was in was shot down in Afghanistan on a mission). In fact, the race's patriotism is what inspired me to sign up for it last year. I'm looking forward to actually experiencing it this year, provided Mother Nature doesn't have other plans again.

Thursday Night Workout

I got a really good workout in tonight. I started with 50 minutes on the bike trainer followed immediately by 15 minutes (1.4 miles) on the treadmill.

I was very happy with the workouts tonight. I was a bit apprehensive about the run. As I mentioned earlier this week, I took all of last week off because I was feeling a bit ill, so it's been over a week since I last ran. Since I was doing it after the longest ride of the year, I didn't know how long I was going to be able to last, but I surprised myself by not only being able to go all 15 minutes, but by being able to keep a pace of 5.7 mph the entire time. 5.7 mph is a pretty good clip for me on the treadmill, but I was able to keep the pace the entire time tonight and actually felt like I could keep going when I was done.

It felt great to get back into the full swing of things tonight. The aerobars on the bike are working out nicely, but I still feel I need a fitting to get the most use out of them. Overall though I'm quite happy with them thus far. I'll write a proper review on them after I use them on the actual road a few times.

Swimming Workout 2/8/15

I swam 1,100 yards in 25 minutes and 15 seconds today, then played 18 holes of golf.

The workout was slightly disappointing, but I'm not too upset. I took all last week off from working out as I was feeling very burnt out between the workouts and the overtime at work. I was also feeling a bit under the weather, so I felt that taking a week off was the right decision.

Today's workout was intended to be done as 100 yard sets on a two minute interval. I managed to do the first one on a two minute interval, but after that had to drop back to a 2:15 interval. I was a bit upset that I had to dial it back a bit, but after the week off I can't complain. 

I still think the decision to take the week off was the right one. I feel reengergized and no longer feel slightly sick, which is all to the good. I'm actively looking forward to this week's workouts instead of looking forward to my rest days.

This Weeks Workouts

Sorry for the lack of posting here lately. I've been working alot of hours at work, and while I've always found time for my workouts, I haven't always made time to post about it here.

This week is a rest week, so the workouts are much easier than I'm used to these days. Monday night was a 15 minute run. I did this on the treadmill, as it's hard to find that short of a route in my neighborhood. 

Tuesday was, as normal, a rest day, and Wednesday had me doing 25 minutes on the trainer. That went pretty well, but, like most training rides, was pretty boring to talk about.

Tonight was another 15 minutes on the treadmilll. I was able to up the speed for all 15 minutes tonight and I'm finding out I can go faster for farther then I ever thought possible. 

I'm not sure what workouts this weekend will bring. Certainly my scheduled time in the pool on Sunday, and I was planning on a long run for Saturday, but it turns out I'll be at work for six hours and I have plans in the evening, so we'll see if I have time to squeeze in a run on Saturday or not. I'm finding myself looking forward to my workouts because I like the way I feel afterwards. I can't wait to see how this all pays off during my first race.

Wednesday Night Run

I got 25 minutes in on the treadmill tonight. I'd planned on doing two miles outside, but once I got home I really didn't feel like getting bundled up to go outside so I decided to just jump on the treadmill instead. 

The run went well. I got in 2.22 miles in 25 minutes. As usual, the first three to six minutes were the hardest. Once I got past the first part, it got easier. Near the end, again as usual on the treadmill, I felt like I could keep going. I upped the speed for the last three minutes, and actually felt better running faster than I had for the rest of the run. 

I almost didn't work out at all today. Since Monday I've been feeling a bit run-down. I'm not sure if I'm just tired, or if I have a bit of the flu, or if I'm overtraining a bit, but I've been feeling very tired this week. I'm glad I worked out because I felt better afterwards, but I had a hard time convincing myself to do it. Hopefully I can get caught up on sleep this weekend and be back to normal next week.

Swim Workout 1/19/15

I got 1,100 yards in today in 24:57. I did 10 sets of 100 yards on a 2:15 interval, then rested about 40 seconds then did 2 50s on a 1:00 interval. 

I was very pleased with the workout. I pushed myself hard tonight and stuck to my sets. I can tell I'm getting better in the pool.

Biking Workout 1/16/15

Not much to say about tonight's workout. 45 good, hard minutes on the trainer. Got a really good sweat worked up and got a good workout in.